Crypto-Christianity and Religious Hybridisation in the Ottoman Balkans: a Case Study (1599–1622)

Abstract

In this paper I intend to address the issue of crypto-Catholicism in the early Ottoman Balkans, a complex phenomenon which has drawn historians’ attention over the decades. More specifically, I will attempt to define and clarify the difficult and unresolved issue, taking into account the characteristics of the Balkans where many religious and social groups co-existed. That produced interaction and enmeshment between the various religions and, as a result, identities developed specific distinctive traits and often overlapped. Within that unique Balkan environment – a real confessional melting pot – crypto-Christianity naturally arose. Crypto-Catholics or Orthodoxies, living under Ottoman rule, publicly decided to embrace the Islamic religion but secretly identified themselves as Christians. I have set out to investigate this phenomenon by considering letters and reports produced by Catholic missions involved in the Balkan peninsula.